Mardi Gras Ends, Lent Begins

class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-42665″ src=”http://klax-tv.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/ashwednesday1.jpg” alt=”ashwednesday1″ width=”500″ height=”273″ />Prayer takes over for the parties as Mardis Gras comes to a close and Lent begins.

Today is Ash Wednesday and you may have noticed people with ashes on their foreheads in the shape of the cross.  Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and is also the first day of Lent. It occurs 40 days before Easter and can fall as early as the 4th day in February or as late as the 10th of March.

Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of blessing ashes made from palm branches blessed on the previous year’s Palm Sunday. The ashes are placed on the foreheads of the participants   in accompaniment of the words “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return”.

KLAX ABC 31 News 2/18/15